Everything and Nothing
by Queen of Jinxing
Summary: Natsumi is a girl born into a powerful clan that wants nothing more to do with her than to and make her their slave. The villagers and fellow clans just ignore her, and tell their children to do the same. Who would want to go against the all powerful Hokkaido clan, known for their unpredictable moves in a fight, their kekkei genkai , and important members from all over the world?
1. Chapter 1

It was a warm day in Konoha. Whispers of clouds were in the soft blue sky, you wouldn't be able to find a shape if you tried your hardest. People were walking, laughing, talking, among other things, everywhere you look. Except one place.

The ninja academy was abandoned by any of the children that were there just thirty minutes ago, just little ants living their lives in there little colonies inhabited it. Never alone, all important.

If only that was how it was with humans, especially for the little blonde boy sitting on a swing in front of the before mentioned academy. Not swinging on it, god forbid he have _any _fun at all, but just sitting on it. Taking the hash whispers and cold glares quietly, his mind was screaming though. Screaming for them to stop, treat him like a normal child, give him love and affection, and maybe even give him a family, hell, just a friend would be greatly appreciated.

"You're brave."

He, being so lost in thought, didn't hear her footsteps. So, like any other living, breathing thing being caught off guard, he jumped.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya."

He looked at the owner of the voice, not moving his head, just his eyes.

"I just wanted ta tell ya that. I wish I was like you. Brave, funny, and stupid in all the right ways."

"You should wish for something that you know about. I'm the kid that no one likes, listens to, or plays with."

He looked back down at the grass, the green, green grass. Away from the girl. And her knowing topaz eyes.

She sat on a patch of dirt, the only one in the whole field.

She filled her tan hands with the brown earth. Watching as it slipped from between her fingers, but made no move to stop it.

"You and I are the same, in alotta ways, Naruto"

She was staring at him.

"How so?"

The dirt was gone from her hands, leaving two unique shaped, crystallized rocks.

"I've seen you, how they treat you. They think you're not worth the dirt you walk on, they think your worth about as much as dirt, and they think you are dirt, that you're dirty. But under the everlasting dirt, there're rocks, crystals, diamonds, and so much more."

She put the two rocks together, Naruto watched, interested.

They made a heart, with a wavy line through the middle.

"I think, it's just a guess though, if we put two misfits together, two dirt, we could make them see those diamonds faster. Don't cha think?"

Naruto just blinked at her, his face turned towards her.

He could see her, clearly now.

Tan skin. It looked soft, but had scars and scratches all over. Choppy, matted white hair, about to her shoulder blades, and big, topaz eyes. She looked around his age, deathly skinny, and average height.

"So you wanna be my friend?"

She grinned.

"Definitely!"

Her eyes grew a little wide.

"If you want."

She added sheepishly after her outburst.

He grinned and poked himself in the chest with his thumb.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, and I'm going to be the next hokage, believe it!"

She laughed then stood up and struck a pose.

Hokkaido Natsumi, I'm gonna be the future clan head, whether they like it or not.

She thought about it for a minute, doing a cute thinking pose.

"I have a feeling we're gonna be best friends forever!"

She said finally, ruining the pose with a grin, but not removing her hand from her chin.

He stood up off the swing and stood there awkwardly, after he put his arms dawn after waving them above his head and yelling undefinable, ecstatic that he has a friend but has no idea what to do now.

"What's next?"

She dropped her pose and looked a little crest fallen. Just when he was about to apologize, she pointed at him, a look upon her face that would make you think she found the end to world hunger.

"We could do this!"

Without warning, he was tackled, and they were rolling, not very much unlike a ball, down the hill behind him.

When they reached the bottom, their friendship was sealed in with dirt, maybe a little blood, and other things that they rolled in.

By the end of the day, they had a poke war, pointed at the whispers of clouds and pretended they were actually something other than lines, and told each other all about themselves.

That night, they fell asleep together, right in the middle of Natsumi pointing out constellations.

The whole day, Naruto was thanking whatever god was out there for answering his prayers, and giving him a friend.


	2. Chapter 2:Hokkaido Clan history

Before we can get to Natsumi's story, you have to know the clan's history.

She was born into the Hokkaido clan, that you must already know, but, here are some important factors that make the clan amazing, and terrible.

Basic facts:

It's a loyal clan with 5 people running it. The five who take place of the former leaders have to be descendants from one of the founders. Each and every one of them has to be the first born and born in the months January- May. Their eyes all a different color.

January had garnet eyes, a deep, dark, reddish-purple color. February only the richest purple. March a beautiful aquamarine, so much like water, it's like you could drown in them. April's are silver and sparkle somewhat when the light hit's it just right. May has emerald, a darker green, simple, but equally as beautiful as the others.

I bet you're wondering what do eye color or birth months matter, the answer to that, my dear friends, is everything, but the history of why is explained later.

This clan is ranked upon birth month. Not skill, or smarts, or money. But birth dates.

January is always the 'strongest', the leaders, and the winners. February is second in command, they only answer to the Januarys, and who they are told to answer to. Then there are the Marches. They handle the money for the public; they run the banks. Inside and outside the compound. April, they run the police firm. Not the one that the Uchiha's run, but one that's specifically in and for the compound. Last but not least, May does the inventory, they check all the food and such. This is a powerful clan, there are bound to be assassination attempts, what better way than to poison their food?

Now, you've heard of the powerful parts, let's get to the others.

June, they have eyes about one shade up from white, pearl, often making the citizens of Konoha scared of them, at first glance all you can see is their pupil. They are slaves, if you could call it that, to January, but only from ages 14-34. Before and after that, they're able to live their lives freely, like everyday people. They do their shopping at the compound grocery store, and only go out for the academy or missions.

July has a lighter red; no way could you ever mistake them with January. They're ruby, and are slaves for February. Though there time is shorter. 15-32.

August is paridot, a lighter green, and is for March. They serve from 16-31.

September is a dark blue, sapphire and, if you haven't caught on at this point, is reserved for April. Only for 17-30.

Now October, an amazing opal, is for May, and is the shortest. If you can't be one of the main 5, you'd want to be in this month. They only have to work from 18-29.

If you think this situation of being a 'slave' is bad, now we get to our little heroine's month.

November.

It's just about the worst month to be born in.

Since they don't really have a place, and their past has worked against them, it leaves them to be one thing.

A punching bag. It's just as bad, if not worse, than being a jinchuuriki.

Everything that happens to the people is taken out on them.

Mad about being from a January family, but are born in October?

Find a November.

Upset that your dog ran away?

Find a November.

Happy about getting married?

Find a November and tell it about your happiness, then kick it just for fun.

Really, it's good for all your emotions.

They can't be placed with a family, because they're rare and usually don't have two at one time. Orphanages don't exist because there's usually a family to put the child, and it'll be a cold day in hell if they give someone from their clan to the outside, even if they did hate said person with a passion.

Decembers, who had kind blue eyes, would get worse treatment.

If there were any.

There was only one December in the history of the clan. And that was around 45 years ago.

They are like the prime rib to be beaten.

So, it would seem, they don't last long.

So, now that you know about their ranking, let me clear up some confusion you may have.

This is a test tube clan.

They were an experiment that went wrong. Konoha was trying to make the ultimate weapon; it was supposed to help them win in any war in the future, because you couldn't have multiple nations, leaders without war.

It was only one woman, and she wasn't supposed to reproduce. But the scientists, who became interested in what would happen, let her mate.

It mated with the bakugan; the child didn't have the eyes. But it did have deep red eyes, garnet, while the mother's had been aquamarine, for the month she had gotten a body. The child wasn't held for nine months either. Just 6.

The mother mated again, this time with the sharingan, the child was held for 13 months before being born in February, thus having purple, amethyst, eyes. Then she mated with a couple of civilians. The 3rd was born after 25 months, being born in March. The 4th was only 13 months, as was the 5th, which was from a man from Uzumaki clan, who was visiting a friend.

They lost track of the spawn, but they found the mother before she could mate once more.

The children had moved away.

One had stayed in the Land of Fire, though in a different village.

One had moved to the Land of Water.

One had moved to the Land of Wind.

The land of Lightning.

And the land of Earth.

Later, when they were old and gray, they told their children of their siblings.

Yukimo, son of garnet, went off to find his family.

Each of the originals had had children themselves. Each was born in the same month their parents had been. After he found them all, they agreed to move to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Years later Rei, daughter of amethyst, had come across documents with the name of their clan, Hokkaido, on the front.

She brought it back to her family. Soon after it was read, it was burned. They were so angry that they were an experiment gone wrong, they became determined to prove that they were anything but a mistake.

They had mated with each other.

The three who had been produced from the three big clans matted together. First Yukimo, a bakugan, and Rei, a sharingan. After 2 months, they had a healthy baby boy. Born in January.

Then it was the two from citizen family, Suki and Baiko, had a March baby girl, Akane.

And Kazou and Rei had a February baby girl, Yuki.

They just kept multiplying. And soon, when the children were old enough, they started to contribute as well. This is when all three dōjutsu mixed. When a May discovered it after watching her grandmother die, they had Muteki no Me.

Soon the bad blood between them and the village dissolved, they became loyal to it. They became known for their wide range of fighting styles, their loyalty, and how they've helped the leaf win every battle or war that they've ever been in, only having a few deaths, and minor injuries in the first two.

If the nine tails could've died, then they would have killed it.

The clan was known as heroes to the village after they fought in the Great Shinobi Wars.

So you know most of the history now. I'll tell you why they hate Decembers and Novembers.

They're traitors.

The December, the only one, and two Novembers, one old and one young, were fighting together with Iwagakure. They helped plan attacks, and slaughtered many in their clan.

It wasn't until the remaining clan members banded together were they finally able to kill the three, it's a proven that those born later in the year are more powerful, though most don't know, those who do follow the 5 leaders without hesitation due to respect.

So, to clear things up, the clan was a mistake, never supposed to happen. It grew to be a big help to the leaf, so it was recognized as a powerful ninja clan, so they were given their own compound. The reason that months and birth dates are so important is because it determines your rank, power, and personal position in the clan. The reason that the leaders are the first born in a family, is related to the founders, and has to be born in the first 5 months is because the founders were only children and born within the first 5 months(1st born + ancestor is a founder + born in 1st 5 months= leader!). You can only mate with people of your month. If you are born in a different month as your parents, you are placed with a couple that matches your month. Incest is nonexistent and birth months can never be determined, both a perk/side effect from being a mistake clan.

Decembers won't live long because they will be beaten to death, not that many are born any way.

Novembers aren't killed because they were just followers, but they are beaten constantly.

People don't say anything about the beatings on young children because they're scared of the clan's power.


	3. Chapter 3

Ordering by eye color instead of skill, birthdays instead of brains.

That shit's crazy.

And sadly, that shit is the base for Natsumi's clan, her home, and her prison. But there is a sort of loop hole. Not a very well hidden one, nor does it get one completely out of the fire, however, it does enough to satisfy Natsumi.

She doesn't go to her compound, face the leaders, and will go out of her way to avoid any clan children. If she doesn't face them, they can't hurt her. They can't take her back, back to the prison she broke out of. So she stays at Naruto's dirty, hazardess, bug (because neither know what kind they are) infested apartment.

It wasn't like that when he first got here, she found out, but after he moved in. The walls were white; however, it became a tannish-brown because he, apparently, didn't think he should clean walls. The ceiling has moldy substances on it, Naruto wanted to see if they would stick but was too short to get them back down afterwards and when he learned to walk vertically, he was too lazy to do it. The floor was sticky in some places but is over all clean, as are the hallways and living room. The bathroom's spotless (thank every god out there for that because that's one of the only rooms that count) but his room makes up for it. When you pull open the door, there's a layer of clothes and other unmentionable items covering the floor, a foot deep. Most places are packed down tight, a few places, though, your leg could fall through, and I'd recommend getting your foot out as quickly as possible, because no one really knows what's living in there anymore.

Natsumi (who's sharing the apartment with him) has a dilemma. Sharing a small space with a pig is bad; being a stubborn person living with a stubborn pig is terrible. Naruto won't clean, Natsumi won't clean, and the house most certainly won't clean itself. Damn, that would be a great.

Besides the no cleaning thing, is the fact that they share a bed. Naruto won't sleep on the couch, Natsumi won't sleep on the 'lumpy back achier', and the villagers will like them before either one sleep on the 'floor'. So they both share his bed, and it wouldn't be so bad, they think of each other as family, if Naruto didn't always moves around, so she's either choked, gagged on a stray pillow, squished under him, and kami forbid she wakes up on the floor. That'll never happen again.

"Get our fat ass off me Naruto," She growled at him. He grumbled, but didn't move a muscle. "I have to take a shower."

He snorted. "You're tellin' me." Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"It's you're ramen based sweat that makes me smell like this." She could almost see his grin.

"Whatever."

"At least I know that soap can be used for more than just greasing floors."

"Coulda fooled me."

As they lay in silence for a few seconds, Natsumi fumed. How dare he? Insult her right to her face. Well, that's cause for punishment.

Her head turned slowly to wind up with a face full of hair, which looked like it was actually made from sunshine.

She spit in it.

"What the hell?"

His hand shot towards the impact point and when it reached its destination, he sat up so fast, she had whiplash just looking at him.

"What's wrong with you?" he yelled, but it was in vain. She grabbed her clothes, a towel, and was down the hall and into the bathroom before he got to 'with'.

When Natsumi walked out of the bathroom she was greeted with the sight of a pissed off Naruto. He was rubbing his head roughly with a towel he must've gotten from the hall closet while stuffing his face with instant ramen. He glared at the cup and grumbled to himself with his mouth full. When he spotted her in the hallway's entrance, his eyes zoned in on her and a scowl was pressed firmly in place.

"I could still be sleeping." He swallowed midsentence. She shrugged casually, grabbed her shoes, walked over to the counter where she proceeded to sit on it and put her blue ninja shoes.

"Then you're welcome." She stated, not caring about his deepened scowl.

"I hate chicken." She grimaced as she bit into the salty, lukewarm instant ramen that's been sitting there for a while, apparently.

"Then you're welcome." The glare that bore into his back was so fierce; he shook slightly, but didn't lose his triumphant grin. However, if they weren't already late, the cup and its salty contents would have dirtied his sunshine hair once more.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm just gonna skip over the whole Mizuki thing, because we all know how it turns out.**

Iruka was in the middle of his lesson, blissfully explaining the Gennin test. It was really quite boring actually and would be over quickly if he didn't just sit in the silence with all attention on him. It's been years since that happened, and every rare time it did, he'd be called out to clean up some mess Natsumi or Naruto had made. But not today, the birds were singing loudly outside the building, so he closed the window. Then there was sweet, _sweet _silence. **Was.**

"IRUKA SENSEI" Two voices chorused as they burst through the door, effectively giving everyone a heart attack, knocking half the class out of their seats and blowing Iruka into a wall. The panting pair were grinning broadly at the sight of their swirly eyed teacher barely conscious and most of their peers clutching at their chests. Those grins were wiped clean, however, after they were blown into the walls on either side of the door by a yelling, big headed sensei, and the once scared shitless class laughed or smirked at them.

"YOU IDIOTS" It was clear that Iruka wasn't happy any longer. A smirking Natsumi turned her head to look at her fellow classmates.

"I think he's talking to you." That caused Naruto to choke on laughter and the class to glare at her. Everyone was well aware that it was going to be a long day.

Naruto smiled widely as he and Natsumi walked into the class room.

She had the exact opposite of his happy mood, she had a dark aura around her and a scowl pressed firmly on her face. She's been like this ever since the 'forest incident', it took days for her to convince Naruto it wasn't because of him, or his little prisoner. Fresh cuts adorned her body along with bruises but she didn't care about them. Or the whispers and troubled looks that were sent her way.

She did care about the young boy watching her with a cocky grin. Rin Hokkaido and his garnet eyes were staring her down, both triumphant and disgusted. After a quick scowl, her eyes locked onto her shoes and her hands wormed their way into her jacket pockets, her white bangs were covering her golden eyes, not that it really mattered. Her eyed were closed; she was ashamed of their color.

She instinctively followed the usual path to the seat between Naruto and Sasuke, and laid her head on her folded arms, on top of the desk. She basked in the peace before she was roughly pulled from her comfortable position, and was thrown to the floor by her freshly chopped hair. A yelp slipped from her throat unwillingly.

Her eyes met those of rabid fangirls, each of which cracked their knuckles menacingly.

"What do you think you're doing? Sitting next to my Sasuke-kun?"

She got no answer, just a blank stare. The pack was bristling when they saw the object of their anger's head turn.

"It seems like your Sasuke-kun has someone else sitting beside him." That was the beginning of what would've been a major bitch fight. Damn Iruka for ruining it.

"Settle down, settle down. I swear it's like a z- Natsumi? Why are you on the floor?"

It was silent, as Naruto worriedly watched his best friend slowly stand up. Her bangs were covering her eyes, but he knew that they were closed. She picked up that habit ever since 'that night'. He couldn't help but worry it was because of him.

"I just fell Iruka-sensei." Her monotone voice rang in his ears. She was never the one to tattle and would usually solve her own problems. But her lively voice was gone and replaced by... that one. This not only worried Naruto, but Iruka, too. It seems the room temperature just dropped 20 degrees.

"...Well, you can sit..." His eyes scanned the room, looking for any seat besides the one he saw when he walked in. He could only watch silent and shocked as she walked over to the seat beside Rin and slowly sat down and reclosed her eyes. You could hear a pin drop from 3 miles away.

"What are you doing here, November?" Rin growled out, obviously displeased.

"Trying to get through this. Now, shut up and listen, with any luck I'll be out of here soon." Her quiet whispers rang through the room as people strained to hear the conversation between the rival Hokkaido.

"The Head's will hear about this." Rin hissed at her and scooted as far away as he could. The boy on the other side did the same.

Her head lowered and she nuzzled her face into her arms. She doesn't think she'll be able to stand another meeting with the heads after last night.

Iruka quickly called out the teams after the seating was established. Even if she was a hand full, Natsumi was one of his favorite students, like his sister even. It pained him to see her come in with bruises and scratches all over her body, her hair unusually choppy, and that defeated look in her eyes, she wouldn't look at him or even Naruto. He had no idea what he'd do if this was all because of Naruto's special condition...Naruto was his other favorite student, like his little brother.

"Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto-"

The blonde in question had his fingers crossed tightly under the desk as he looked at his best friend that sat across the room from him. Then his eyes flickered over to Sakura and a small blush formed on his cheeks. He could die happy if they were on his team, they would be unstoppable.

"-Haruno Sakura-" His cheer rang through the class room, and his grin only widened more when he saw Natsumi lift her head and give him a ghost of her original smile. It was a start.

"-and Uchiha Sasuke." That slammed the brakes on Naruto's good mood and he instantly sat down, a cloud of doom washed over him. He felt a pang in his chest when he saw the smile leave Natsumi's face; her topaz eyes go back to their dead-like state just before she closed them and buried her face into her arms yet again. The only thing that came to his mind was this.

_'I blame Sasuke-teme.'_

Natsumi's insides turned cold and her hands began sweating. She was always afraid that this would happen, that she would be alone in the world, now her only friend was gone and he was replaced by a load of people who were scared to touch her and would gladly let her die. She wasn't alone in just the world, but the ninja world, surrounded by enemies and running out of energy and chakra.

Damn Iruka-sensei, even if it wasn't his fault.

As the names of her peers dwindled, she could see her teacher's eyes visibly widen. This made her and Naruto both panic a little on the inside. When Iruka's scared, then it's usually something big.

"This... this can't-t b-be..." The class could barely hear him mumble.

"Just get on with it" A rude kid who hadn't been placed yelled impatiently. Iruka gathered his wits and said in a still shaky voice the next team.

"Team fifteen: Hokkaido Natsumi, Aomori Daiki, and Hokkaido Rin."

The room was deathly silent. Nat hadn't lifted her head, Daiki sat stunned in the back corner of the room, and Rin had an unreadable expression on his face.

Iruka awkwardly continued his grouping. After a couple minutes of awkward silence, he finally dismissed for lunch, and everyone tore out of the room, except Nat, Naruto, and Iruka. Naruto had his hand on Nat's shoulder, silently consoling her and Iruka was watching them sadly.

"I could talk to Hokage-sama. Maybe talk about having a few four-man cells." The flustered teacher said, looking over the list for about the thousandth time.

Nat's head shook as she parted her face from her arms. "No thanks, Iruka-sensei. I'm tired of running from them." Her tired eyes found his, she seemed so broken.

"Natsumi..." Both he and Naruto breathed, wondering what had happened to the unbreakable girl they both knew.

"They try to put me down anytime they can. I'm tired of it... I really am. I don't even know if I want to be a ninja anymore, it just doesn't seem as cool. If I didn't work so hard to get here..." She sighed and stood, brushing Naruto's hand from her shoulder. "I'm going for a walk, don't follow me."

She walked with her shoulders hunched forward and her head stooped down. The two that were left behind stared dumbly in despair. Naruto thought it was his fault and inwardly kicked himself for harboring the Kyyubi; Iruka's heart broke when he couldn't see her snow-white hair anymore. He was scared that part of his little sister's gone.

Narumi walked to the 7th training ground and looked around. Her head hurt and the bright sunlight didn't help her one bit. Squinting, she slowly began to make her way to the safety of the shade. Her back was scratched and she knew her fishnet was torn, but she could care less about that. There was always more.

What really bothered her was Naruto.

She couldn't shake the fact that he was the Kyyubi.

That that was the reason he was ignored.

That that was probably the only reason they were friends, because they were both unwanted.

Tears sprung in the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them out. Her eyes automatically closed as her head hit the tree with a dull thud. That was a big mistake. She hissed in pain, but other than that, did nothing.

Her heart dropped to her stomach a few hours after the 'forest incident', when realization came and crashed onto her like a ton of bricks.

Naruto was only her friend, her best friend, because of the damn demon fox. No one would accept him, so he was stuck with her.

A few tears leaked from her clenched eyes and fell onto her lap. If she hadn't had Naruto, what would've happened to her?

She pictured herself dead, no one caring and no tombstone. No one would've care enough to get her one. Could she be dead by now?

She pictured herself with an evil smile, staring down at all the leaf shinobi and kunochi that lay dead at her feet. Would she have been evil?

Her head fell to her knees that were pressed to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs and she shook, sobs raking her body, bringing her headache up to full blast; that only made her cry harder.

The thought of Naruto laughing at her with all the others instead of telling them to back off. Him beating her instead of helping her deliver the beatings. Him going home to his parents and leaving her to play in the dirt, and her only finding one of the two stones that made a heart.

Now guilt ran it's icy fingers down her spine. She did want him to be happy... Just not without her...

_'So selfish...' _She thought, the tears still making their hot, salty trail down her cheeks. _'I don't deserve him.' _Her head lifted, she used the back of her hand to wipe her nose and eyes._ 'But I can't live without him.'_ Her sad sigh echoed though the grounds before she looked up to the skies. It was perfect through the trees, not a cloud in sight. She sat and stared into the blue and green waiting for the puffiness and redness in her eyes to disappear, so she could go into the class without the teasing.

Oh Kami-sama, she hates the teasing.


	5. Chapter 5

**~Natsumi's P.O.V. ~**

I walked slowly back to the academy, not really caring about being late. It's not like anyone really cares any way, Iruka-sensei and Naruto might, but it doesn't matter. I'm alone in this, again. Like when I was 8, before I met Naruto...someone I thought was like me. I hate to think it, but I feel betrayed, this feeling, this constriction in my chest lets me know this. I have no reason to feel this way, Naruto couldn't have known he was hosting a demon fox and no one was allowed to speak of it. But was that why she felt this anger? It's eating me away, starting with my emotions, my happiness was completely swallowed by it and I couldn't think of anything good at the moment.

I'm stuck on a team with people who hate me, passionately might I add, and my only friendship was based on false pretenses. I have nowhere to go except to that friend's(can I even call him that anymore?) house and I have a nagging feeling that if I'm anywhere privet with him, I'll explode, through my rage, he'll have no room to explain what he can. I hate it when people do that and it'll be highly hypocritical to do it myself. It's not something I'm proud of, but I've always had a temper and it only causes me more trouble than I already have. So, I try to keep my mouth shut, but it has this annoying tendency to open anyway.

Sooner then I wanted, I was back at the academy, and this time I found a spot in the back corner, with barely and light so I have a lesser chance of being noticed. With my eyes closed, I nuzzled into my arms, effectively hiding my face. I hate my eyes now, they show that I'm a November, a traitor. I'll never say it out loud, but I'm jealous of Rai. With his garnet eyes that show he's my superior in every way by their color and that he knows it by the look he always gives me. He's my own personal devil, and I'd trade him for a pile of shit, and then treasure it.

"Nat-chan..." I knew by his voice that it was Naruto, and my chest tightened. Not knowing what to do, I pretended to sleep.

"I know you're awake Nat-chan." his voice was strained; he was trying to talk with a calm he didn't have. Reluctantly, I sighed and raised my head, but my eye lids were shut, hiding the one thing, besides my scars and battle wounds, that mark my fate.

**~ R.P.O.V. ~**

As Naruto watched his longtime friend succumb to the relentless bulling, his anger flowed through his veins.

He was angry at her, for letting it get to her, after all those years of telling him that it didn't matter, telling him sweet nothings that always helped him. He's angry at Jiji, for putting her on any team that wasn't his. He's angry at the bullies, her clan, and the bystanders that were just as bad as the bullies because they didn't do anything, they just watched as the endless abuse that flowed his and Natsumi's way, but most of all, he was angry at himself, for not being able to cheer up his best friend, not being able to teller her sweet nothings and make her day, not being able to reassure her that everything was going to be alright.

He didn't know if anything was going to be alright between them again.

With all the courage he could muster, he walked slowly to her, not sure what he was going to say, or how he was going to say it. His team, who were the only other people in the room, watched him, though Sasuke would have said he just glanced at the scene.

"Nat-chan..." he called softly, only to see her body tense, and her breathing become a bit deeper. This angered him more.

"I know you're awake Nat-chan." his voice sounded strained, even to him, as he spoke through clenched teeth. His anger meter dropped when she lifted her head, only to rise again when he saw her eyes closed.

What do you want, Naruto-san?" there was a tense silence between the two, so powerful; it made the other occupants in the room uncomfortable.

"Is it Naruto-san now? What happened to you?" he asked, his jaw stilled clenched, as were his hands now.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Naruto-san. Maybe you should go back to your team now." her tone of voice said that she was done with this conversation, but Naruto wasn't even close to finished. As her head went back down to rest within her crossed arms on the desk, his hand shot out, and grabbed a fist full of her choppy hair. With a strangled yelp, her hands darted and encased his and her eyes snapped open, full of panic. Those golden orbs narrowed dangerously when they landed on the blonde culprit, whose face was contorted with intense fury.

"Let go of my hair Naruto! Now!" her growl fell on deaf ears as his fist tightened.

"Who do you think you are? I just wanna talk to you and you start acting like a bitch!" he snarled at her.

"What I do and how I act doesn't concern you! I can do whatever I want, you don't own me Naruto!"

"I know, but you can't just push me out! You've been cold ever since that night in the forest, it's because you found out, isn't it?"

"Yes! Is that what you want to hear? It's because I found out about your 'friend'! You're not my real friend, this friendship was fake from the beginning!" his hand dropped from her hair and fell limp to his side, shock was visible on his face, as was pain, anger, and betrayal. He was expecting her to deny his accusations and they could go back to being best friends again. He should have listened to his gut; they weren't best friends anymore, not even friends.

As her hair fell back into place she stood up abruptly, her chair falling down from the force that the back of her knees and calves hit it, her face contorted with anger and her eyes blazed with righteous fury.

"You don't know a thing about me Uzumaki! You can't relate to me, you're one of them." she was breathing hard, and tears lined her eyes, but she wiped them away with her shirt sleeve. Her voice was unwavering as it echoed throughout the room. Naruto and his fellow team mates, who were sitting in their chairs, were shocked.

"If it wasn't for that little thing, that secret, then you'd be just like the others! Bulling the November, or just standing by and watching it happen! You have no idea what it's like, absolutely none, to be me! You were my only friend, hell you were even my best friend for years, and I thought it was because you and I were the same. You were a by stander, I had to make the first move in our friendship! You didn't care about me, not until I came up and asked you to be friends!" she stopped and took a breath, the words sunk into the other three children's minds. Her body shook, but her voice didn't.

"Our relationship in general, is just not real anymore, Naruto. I may understand you, but you can't even begin to understand me. No one can," the thought of someone trying to, fueled her fire once more. "I'm the only one! You could make friends because no one's afraid of what would happen to them if they try! My clan could turn on any one and make life for them and their family a living hell because they have that much power, and everybody knows so they let other Hokkaido clan members do whatever they want," her head tilted downwards, her bangs casting a shadow over the top portion of her face. She turned her head and her eyes landed on her former friend's team members. Their tense bodies let her know that they had heard every single word that flew out of her mouth. "You might be from a civilian family, Sakura, but you have people that love and cherish you, deeply. You'd have more friends if you got your head out of Sasuke's ass. So what if you were bullied when you were little because of your forehead. It's over now because you had a friend that you lost because of a guy. Does that show you're gratitude? No, it shows that you're a shallow bitch." the pinkette's head tilted forward slightly in shame.

"Leave them out of this!" Naruto yelled to Natsumi, who's still his friend in his eyes.

"They listened when I screamed at you, now they need to hear the truth, too." she grumbled, not even sparing him a glance. Her eyes were locked with the onyx eyes of the last loyal Uchiha. They were glaring at each other, topaz vs. onyx, their eyes narrow slits, his were daring her to say something and hers were daring him to try and stop her.

"You're a whiney little bastard who is so caught up in the past, you don't think about the future. You're family's dead, they were slaughtered but instead of living out your life, you're focused on caring your clans legacy on your shoulders and it's killing your child hood and happiness. You're hell bent on killing you're _own brother _you don't realize that you're not. Like. Him.-"

"He murdered my family!" he screamed and stood from his seat, effectively catching Naruto and Sakura's attention.

"And now _you're_ going to murder your family!" she snapped back at him, the confusion gave her the chance to continue.

"Have you ever thought that you're not only aiming to kill a murderer and 'avenge' your clan, but you're also going to murder you're own brother? He killed his family, and now you're gonna kill yours! And while you're at it, you're probably going to betray the village, just like he did, and hurt the people who love you, just like he did. You're going to have your family's blood on your hands, could you live with yourself? I know what you have to do to get the mangekyou sharingan, Sasuke. Don't forget that my 'clan'-" she spat the name out with disgust obvious on her face. "-has Uchiha blood running through our veins. In the end you'd be no better than him." she finished with a sigh, as she roughly pushed past Naruto to make it out the door.

"What do you suppose I do then?" Sasuke yelled at her back with contempt on his face, but fear and confusion hidden deep within his eyes. The November paused at the door and spoke with her back turned towards him.

"Live out your life and recreate the Uchiha clan. Don't forget to be a kid and be happy. The best kind of revenge is to live happy and healthy, surrounded by friends and your precious people, while he's being hunted down, and if you do find him only fight if your life's in danger and make sure he knows that he's not worth your time, that you won't kill him because he's not worth the trouble. That will be the last piece of advice you'll ever hear from me. I'm not your friend anymore...I won't treat you as such and I expect you to treat me the same. Goodbye." she said simply in monotone and continued walking. With the tense and awkward silence, you could hear her footsteps as she walked calmly down the hall. Sakura looked at her team mates.

"This never happened, agreed?" her quiet voice questioned as it bounced off the walls.

"Agreed." both the boys said almost instantly. Naruto felt a tight pain in his chest, his friend was gone and she was replaced with something different, something alien and he had no idea what to do, or how this would end up, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't be for the best. Sasuke was even more confused than ever before. Was he just like his brother? Should he continue with his plan to kill him? These thoughts were whirling around in his head and he just wanted to go home so he could figure it out. Sakura sat in her seat, still with her head tilted forward so no one could see the tears welling up and collecting in the corners of her green eyes. she did have people to love and cherish her, she thought her mom always treated her as a child and she could get along fine without her, but the more thought she puts into it, the more she realizes how so many people around her don't have a mom to baby them, the thought of not having her family causes a few tears to fall and a sob almost escaped her lips. She is a shallow bitch, and she does need to make amends with Ino, her first, and only now that she thinks about it, friend. the first thing that she's going to do when she gets home is hug her parents and tell them how much she loves them, then go straight to her room to get her priorities straightened out, then she'll go to Ino-pi- Ino's house so she can apologize and, hopefully, become friends with her.

Though they'll never mention it again, what was told to them was true. And they don't want to know what would've happened if they hadn't heard it. (*cough*most of cannon*cough*)

Aomori Daiki didn't know what to do when he saw Natsumi sitting at the training grounds, a hand in the dirt and the other holding her head as she shook. His deep brown eyes watched her from his spot at the gate.

She wore a fishnet shirt with a gray zip-up vest and black Capri's. The cuffs and seams were dark blue to match her ninja sandals. Even if she was scarred and bruised she was very pretty, not yet grown into her body, he remembered that she often tripped because her long legs would tangle in each other. The first time he saw her, he remembered, his eyes had gone wide and his mouth dry. if his family didn't own Aomori supermarket, Aomori deli, Aomori dairy, and Aomori bakery, then he actually would have talked to her that day, but it was common knowledge that if you associated with any one that the Hokkaido's treated badly, you and your family were going to be treated that way too.

But now they were on the same team, and the thought made him smile.


	6. Chapter 6

The sunlight hurt, the breeze hurt, her body hurt.

What was she thinking? What made her think she had the right to tell off her old classmates? She knew this would happen, that she'd blow up in Naruto's face...but his teammates? This hole she's in is just getting deeper, and she's the one digging it.

Due to being curled into a ball and sobbing uncontrollably, she didn't notice her approaching teammate. He stood there awkwardly, not really knowing what to do. Girls never cried around him, well, his mom did the other day- but that was only because she was so proud.

"What the hell is wrong with me? Why can't I do anything right?" quietly, she continued to scold herself, curling up more, if that was even possible. "I've ruined everything. There's nothing that will fix this...I just hope he hates me as much as I hate myself."

"Why would you want that?" her body tensed but she didn't look at him.

"How long were you here?"

"Long enough..." a breeze swept through the training ground, releasing leaves from the branches.

"Then you ought to know why. I messed up. I messed up big."

"We all mess up; don't beat yourself up for it."

"He was my only friend Aomori, he was my escape and I could talk to him about anything- but look at what I did! I ruined it!"

He awkwardly patted her back, not feeling comfortable at all.

"If he was really as good of a friend as you say, then he'll forgive you."

"No…I won't be able to look him in the eyes let alone talk to him…" she laughed shakily and dried her eyes, not looking at him. "I don't have any friends, no one likes me and you're only here because… why are you here, Aomori?"

"Because I was worried... and we have to look after one another right? We're f-friends." He choked on his words and winced slightly, why is he such a dork?

"I'm a terrible friend, you can do better…ask a-anybody." She slouched, looked down, and began to draw meaningless pictures in the dirt.

"I want to be here for you, now more than ever. I know that you don't have anyone to fall back on, I want to be that person." He grasped her hand in his, and just noticed she was shaking slightly.

"I don't wanna hurt anyone else."

"You won't, I'm tough." He smiled a small smile in her direction, one that she returned shakily.

"Thanks… I needed that." she squeezed his hand slightly and looked off to the distance.

"We should probably get going, we're already pretty late." Her smile stretched a little.

"Yeah, I guess we are." She jumped up with a renewed vigor.

"Let's go! I can't wait to meet our sensei!"

"Too late." An ominous voice called and faster than the eye could follow, the duo were tied and propped up against one another.

"The hell?" Nat squawked and struggled to break free while Daiki sat, frozen in place. A woman stepped from the shadows calmly, hands in her pockets. She had brown hair in a pixie cut and black eyes that seemed to see through you. Her stern look changed and she suddenly had a pout on her lips and her hands placed on her hips.

"Ya know how long we waited for you two? We passed Kakashi on our way here!" she whined and stomped up to them, a smirking Rai following her, his red eyes practically sparkling with mirth.

"S-sorry sensei-"

"I saw a squirrel and ran after it!" the looks that the heroine was given... "It was fat and could barely run so I wanted to catch it, ya know, show off my super awesome ninja skills! But then Mr. Kill-Joy over her came after me and I lost It." it was quiet and the weird and exasperated looks that she was given didn't lighten up.

"Let me get this straight...you chased a squirrel, much like a dog would, to test your skills, and didn't catch it?" It was quiet again.

"It was smarter than a regular squirrel!"

"It was fat-"

"That's beside the point, damn it!"

"You're a retard."

"Shut the hell up, January!"

"What did you say to me, November?"

"You heard me, rat bastard!"

"The heads w-"

"'The heads will hear about this' right? You're so damn predictable!"

"That's enough! I swear, I didn't sign up to babysit a bunch of three year olds!" sensei snapped with a glare at the two. Her extreme mood swings were starting to make Daiki think she had a disorder as he sweat dropped and tried to wiggle from his bindings.

"Knock it off!" Nat said as she twitched. "I'm ticklish!" he just sighed and looked to their teacher pleadingly. She just grinned sadistically at him.

"Na-ah-ah! You kiddies are acting like little babies." she pouted and continued talking as if they were retarded toddlers. "Da wittle babies needa learn deir wesson!" the smirk was wiped off Rai's face as he too was tied in ropes.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he screamed, struggling against the binds.

"I think I'm testing you, but hey, what do I know?" she grinned. "You have 72 hours to escape the training ground, which I rigged with traps. That should be activating right about…" she pulled out a red button and pushed it "now." She stood for a while. "I'm going to hide this. The first one to get to it has a choice to save their teammates or graduate by themselves. Good luck." And she was gone, as if the breeze blew her away.

"DAMN IT!" Natsumi screamed and thrashed, Kicking Daiki in his jaw. He passed out, laying on his side and cheek pressed against the grass.

"Great job, November." Sarcasm dripped from his mouth. "If you were any more of a screw up it'd be illegal."

"Bite me, January!" Nat looked worriedly at the boy, her only friend.

"Don't-"

"I could keep you from being a ninja and show those uppity pricks that birthdays mean absolutely nothing." Her eyes narrowed. "I'm going to take that chance."

"I'd like to see you try." He spat, literally, at her feet.

"You will." She glared at his form from across the clearing. "If you can see through my dust!"

The ropes were cut and she was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Nat growled as she stalked the training ground where Rai and Daiki sat, both still wrapped up tightly. She wished that her struggle to grab a kunai from her pouch hadn't knocked out Daiki, but she managed to grab one, and cut through the rope that held her.

Rai would be able to do the exact same thing, if he'd swallow his dignity and squirm a little bit. But he's not the reason Nat's here, she's here to help Daiki cut his ropes and then they'd go and find the button and become true gennin.

She must've kicked him pretty hard for him to pass out for…was it ten minutes now?

"Damn…" Rai muttered. "If that screw up could do it, then it shouldn't be this hard…" Nat snorted loudly, giving away her hiding place but not coming out. Rai sat up straighter.

"November, I know you're out there!" he yelled, looking to her place in the brush. "I demand you to tell me how to get free!" he growled.

"No."

"No-"

"I have no reason to. Imagine what the clan will say when they realize that their next leader can't even untie himself from some rope."

Silence.

"I'll be your leader too, so-"

"No one is my leader. I make my own decisions."

She came out, heading over to Daiki after throwing a venomous glare his way. Blocking his line of vision, she proceeded to free the boy.

"Daiki, com'on, get up!" she slapped his cheeks none too gently.

"Huh?" the boy asked as he shot up, knocking Nat to the ground. "Was goin' on?" his words slurred as he wiped his eyes. He then focused on a grumbling white haired idiot. "What happened?"

"I kicked you and you passed out…." She smiled sheepishly, pulling herself into a sitting position.

"Oh…" that would explain the pain in his jaw.

"Sorry 'bout that… But I got you out!" she stood and pulled him off the ground, a grin on her face. "We need to find the button, Dai-kun, so pick up the pace!"

"November!" but it was too late, she'd already shot off into the brush, dragging a stumbling Daiki with her.

"I think she went in this direction!" Nat screamed, sprinting in the mentioned direction, not really thinking.

"Natsumi hold on! There are traps; we have to think about this!"

"Thinking is for losers." She snorted just before being jerked into the air by a rope that was now tied to her ankle.

"Natsumi…" Daiki sighed, slumped over slightly. "I told you that we have to think about this."

She went cross-eyed and stuck her tongue out at him before reaching up and cutting the rope. "And I told you, thinking is for losers!" she told him triumphantly, doing two backflips before landing on the ground. "See Dai-kun? I'm a kickass nin-" she took a step closer to him and stepped right into another trap.

"I FELL FOR IT AGAIN!" two identical voices yelled at the same time (Iruka smiled a little into his hand as he spoke with the hokage).

"Natsumi-kun…" Daiki sighed and threw a kunai, effectively cutting the rope and making gravity show it's power as Nat fell to the ground and hit hard.

"Dai-chan…" she whined, sitting up from her spread eagle position on the ground.

"We have to keep moving." He said softly, helping her up.

"Right!" she turned and pointed to a random direction. "I have a feeling that it's this way!" she made to walk, only for the ground to fall out from under her feet. "SENSEI!"

Two days later, the duo found themselves stuck in a moat with alligators slowly closing in on them.

"THIS WOMAN IS PHYCHOTIC!" Daiki yelled, his calmness had left him that morning- about the time a centipede crawled into his mouth.

"YOU REALIZED THIS NOW?!" Nat yelled back, kicking one of the reptiles that got too close.

"WHAT DO WE DO?! I DON'T WANT TO BE EATEN!" you're probably thinking 'she wouldn't let anything too bad happen to them.' … WRONG! As of right now, they're pretty sure that Rai has been eaten. That's how bad it's been.

"FUCK!" one of the smaller animals jumped at her, aiming straight for her head, with jaws opened and showing off sharp yellow teeth. Like any sane person, she ducked, making the reptile sail through the air and into the water behind her.

Most decided to do the same as the first, meaning that there was a lot of dodging and scrapes.

"…I'VE GOT AN IDEA!" Dai yelled to her, hope evident in his voice for the first time in a few hours. "FOLLOW ME!" he began to jump on the backs of the alligators, working his way to the edge.

"THAT'S INSANE!" Nat yelled watching her friend in such amazement that she almost got bitten in the side.

"IT WORKS! TRUST ME, COME ON!" thinking it over and dodging a few more times, she threw the little caution she has into the wind and leaped after him, knocking a few of the green pests out of the way. As soon as she stumbled and fell to the ground was she up again, cussing and flipping off the reptiles.

"YOU LITTLE FUCKERS HAVE NOTHING ON HOKKAIDO, NATSUMI! I OWN YOU, BITCHES! WHAT THE SHIT ARE YOU GONNA DO NO-"

"HELP! SOMEONE!" a familiar voice yelled from the small island they were just on, filled with panic and pain.

"What the fuck…?" Nat questioned, squinting to see in the cluster of alligators, but already knowing what she'd find.

What she didn't know is how he'd gotten out and followed them.

"HELP!"

"Come on Natsumi, we have to help him!" Dai was already poised to hop on the few animals in the water.

"Are you crazy? He's probably just faking!" she said shakily, looking at the ground.

"Natsumi!" she heard him yell, not sounding too happy.

"What?" she snapped, looking at him with narrowed eyes of fire.

"Are you willing to take that chance?" he asked seriously, not once leaving his position. She thought about in for all of five seconds before another call of help made her decision for her.

"Let's go." They darted through the shallow water and jumped on the first sign of green in the blue. Daiki first because he was so much faster than Natsumi herself. Daiki reached the land and tried to disperse the animals, not having much luck.

Natsumi did. The first alligator she kicked into the water was the one that tried to take a bite of her friend. Many others were thrown in after him.

"You work on getting them in the water Natsumi-san." He told her grabbing Rai not that the alligators attention was elsewhere.

"Get them in the water…right." She stared at the angry animals, all snapping their jaws at her- just out of kicking distance. "YOU UGLY MOTHERFUCKERS WANT A PIECE OF ME?! COME AND GET IT!" without further ado, she dived into the water, knowing that most, if not all, will follow her in. "HURRY UP, DAI-KUN!" she shouted when she came up for air, half way there already and seeing the boy stare at her in shock. "THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE AFTER ME THE WHOLE TIME!" some were turning back and making their way back.

This was all Daiki needed to get moving, jumping quick and surely with Rai in his arms. Rai had a kunai drawn and was slashing any of the alligators that got in their way.

"THERE YOU GO!" she kicked one that got a little too close for comfort and began to swim again.

She stumbled onto land the same moment Daiki finished running through the shallow water.

That didn't stop the alligators form trying to get them.

"I'll take them, you look after him." Nat stated getting into a defensive position with her kunai in hand.

"No…That won't be necessary." A figure jumped from a tree to their left, catching the kunai that Nat had thrown at her. "You don't seem too happy to see me…" she pouted and crossed her arms walking to stand in front of the moat.

The alligators disappeared with a puff of smoke when she waved a hand at them.

"You tried to murder us, you crazy bitch!"

"Nah-ah-ah~!" she sang, walking up and poking her nose. "It's 'you tried to murder us, you crazy sensei!"

"Wh-what?!" she asked, falling onto her butt.

"That's right! You all passed! Great job!"

"But, we didn't get the button." Dai said, just as astonished as Nat.

"I'd think again." The two looked at each other and then to Rai, whose leg was bleeding quite profusely.

In his hands, there was a bluish-black box with a big red button right in the middle.

"A-an alligator-r had it in it-it's mouth. I punched it a-and it dropped i-it into m-m-my lap…"

"Yep! That's right!" she looked at him happily. "So, what would you like to do, Rai-chan?"

He looked at her, and then the shocked faces of his could-be teammates.

"All of us will be a team." Nat, if it's even possible, looked more shocked and Dai smiled a small smile, confusion evident in his eyes.

"YES! I hoped you'd say that!" she cheered, clapped, and jumped in a circle, then stopped abruptly. "Now, all of you go home and get a good night's sleep. I want you all to be back here at 7:00 in the morning, got it?" she said seriously.

"Hai, Sensei…" they all said, Rai seriously and Nat and Dai confusedly.

After she disappeared in a swirl of leaves Nat pounced on Rai. He hissed and glared as his injured leg hit the ground.

"What's your deal, January?" she growled, grabbing his collar and bringing him closer to her.

"I could ask you the same thing, November." He growled, grabbing her hands and tried to pry them off of his shirt.

"Why would you save me? You hate me!" her hands tightened, leaving no room for Rai's own fingers.

"…You saved me. I had to repay the favor…" he growled, red eyes filled with hate.

"…Don't think this changes a damn thing between us." She said seriously, teeth bared and her own eyes like molten gold with her hate.

"Don't get your panties in a twist; I still hate you, November."

"The feeling's mutual, January." She pushed him down, making his head crack on the ground. He hissed again but she didn't care and was already 7 yards away from him.

She didn't even notice Daiki not walking beside her, instead choosing to help Rai, or feel his worried looks at her retreating back.


	8. Chapter 8

A kick was delivered to her side and her head hit the floor with a crack.

Her jaw hurt so much that she couldn't even scream out.

"How could you let this happen?!" a shrill voice screamed right before she was kicked in the stomach and thrown into a wall. "He's an heir! It's your duty to protect him!" she spit blood onto the floor, and allowed a few tears to escape at January's hit.

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw her teammate smirking, a bandage on his leg.

"And how dare you show your face here!" another voice bellowed, this time belonging to May, anger and hate filled- just like the other.

His sentence was punctuated with a blow to the side of her head, sending her crashing to the floor.

"After months, now you decide to join us once more?" a calm female voice questioned, but Natsumi didn't have to look to see that she was being sneered at.

Pain raced up her back from what couldn't be anything else than a cut from February's favorite knife with an amethyst handle.

"Did the demon brat finally see you for what you are? A dirty little whore."

She was pulled up by her hair and hung for a second before hitting the cold, hard ground. March had cut her hair, again.

April said nothing, but ran her hand through the now short locks. The contact made the many abrasions on her scalp sting and she knew that the comforting act was just that. An act.

All of a sudden she was thrown to the opposite wall- more than 17 feet away- and something cracked. Her body hurt too much already to know what was broken now.

Natsumi knew that they weren't even close to done yet. And after they were, she'd be given to the villagers. She'd be lucky to see sun rise.


End file.
